Blog / Behavioral health / How to help a BCBA colleague find something better
How to help a BCBA colleague find something better
Everyone in this field knows someone who should have left a year ago. Most of us say "you should look around" and nothing happens. Here is what actually helps, what to avoid, and the one rule that separates helping from recruiting.
- 58% of BCBAs have considered leaving the profession, so the colleague you are worried about is closer to the median than the exception.
- The most useful thing you can offer is your own caseload number — sustainable guidance is 6–12 clients and 130–250 weekly therapy hours, and most people have never seen it.
- Never submit someone's details without asking — consent takes 1 message and is the line between a referral and a professional problem.
- Referral arrangements pay on placement with the reward stated before you refer, so there are 0 commissions to chase afterwards.
- Replacing a BCBA costs an employer $3,000 to $10,000, which is why "ask before you resign" is genuinely good advice rather than wishful thinking.
They are not an outlier
58% of BCBAs have considered leaving the profession.[1] Around two out of three report moderate to high burnout.[2]
The colleague you are worried about is closer to the median than the exception, which is worth telling them. A large part of what keeps people in bad roles is the assumption that everyone is coping and they are the one struggling.
Why "you should look around" does nothing
Because it contains no information.
Someone in an unsustainable role is already exhausted, already behind on documentation, and has no capacity for an open-ended project. "Look around" adds a task to a list that is the problem.
What helps is something specific enough to act on in ten minutes.
The four things that actually help
1. Give them your numbers.
This is the single most useful thing, and almost nobody does it. Tell them:
- How many active clients you carry
- Roughly how many total weekly therapy hours you oversee
- Whether your documentation time is inside paid hours
- Whether your drive time is compensated
Published guidance puts a sustainable BCBA caseload at 6 to 12 clients for comprehensive programmes and 130 to 250 total weekly therapy hours overseen.[3] Most people carrying too much have never seen those figures and have no idea how far outside them they are.
A concrete comparison does more than a month of sympathy.
2. Tell them to ask before they resign.
Replacing a BCBA costs an employer $3,000 to $10,000 in recruitment, onboarding and lost productivity.[4] With roughly 1.6 open roles per certified practitioner,[5] their employer has more reason to accommodate a reduction than they assume.
A specific ask — nine clients instead of thirteen, four days, telehealth for the two furthest families — is granted more often than people expect. Negotiating from inside a job is a much stronger position than negotiating from outside one.
3. Name the route, not the destination.
"You could go part-time" is vague. "Ask for telehealth on your two furthest families — it removes the drive time without reducing your pay" is a thing they can say on Monday.
4. Make one introduction, if you have one.
Not five. One, to a specific person, with a sentence about why. In a field of roughly 84,000 practitioners, a single warm introduction is worth more than any job board.
What to avoid
Do not forward their CV anywhere. Even with good intentions. Especially not to your own employer.
Do not tell them what you would do. You are not carrying their caseload, their finances or their family situation.
Do not oversell an alternative. If you are recommending your own clinic, say what is bad about it too. You will be the person they blame otherwise, and you will deserve it.
Do not keep raising it. Once is support. Repeatedly is pressure, and it makes you one more thing they have to manage.
The one rule
Ask before you put their name anywhere.
This is the line between a referral and a professional problem. Submitting someone's details to a recruiter, a platform or a clinic without their agreement is not a favour — it is a breach of the relationship you were relying on, and it can reach them in ways you did not intend. Their current employer finding out they are looking is a real risk to them and no risk at all to you.
Consent takes one message: "There's a role I think you'd be right for — happy for me to pass your name on?"
If the answer is no, or not yet, that is a complete answer. Give them the benchmark numbers and leave it there. People move when they are ready, and the person who gave them a realistic comparison rather than a push is the one they contact when that happens.
Common questions
What actually helps a colleague who is burnt out?
Concrete comparison rather than encouragement. Tell them your caseload number, your total weekly therapy hours and whether your documentation time is paid. Most people have no benchmark and assume their situation is normal.
Should I tell them to quit?
Usually not first. Replacing a BCBA costs an employer $3,000 to $10,000, so a specific request — fewer clients, four days, telehealth for the furthest families — is often granted. Negotiating from inside a job is stronger than from outside one.
Can I refer a colleague without telling them?
No. Submitting someone's details without their agreement is a professional problem rather than a favour, and it costs you the relationship you were trying to use. Ask first, every time.
Do I get paid for referring someone?
Under a referral arrangement, yes — if the introduction results in a placement. The reward is stated before you refer, so you know what it is worth in advance. It is not a commission you have to chase.
What if they are not ready to move?
Then the useful thing is the benchmark, not the introduction. Give them the numbers and leave it. People move when they are ready, and the person who gave them a realistic comparison is the one they call.